Article — Noldin, Summa of Moral Theology
Third Article. On Counsels
123. Notion. Counsels are good actions commanded by no law, yet better than their opposites, as virginity, which is better than marriage, fasting, which is better than temperance.
a. Besides actions commanded or prohibited by law, there are many others neither commanded nor prohibited but licit, among which are contained those which are commended to us as counsels. For God manifests His will to us in a twofold way, either by commanding or by persuading and commending. Commanded actions are necessary for obtaining the end; counsels are not necessary, but free and left to the choice of each one.
b. Not all actions commanded by no law pertain to counsels: for it belongs to the notion of counsel that it be an action better than its opposite. Therefore marriage, although it is not commanded, is not a matter of counsel, because it is not better than virginity.
c. Counsels differ from laws in several ways: a. laws oblige all; counsels oblige only those who have bound themselves to their observance; b. laws oblige by their own force from the divine will, counsels only dependently upon the human will; c. laws are means necessary for obtaining eternal life, counsels are free means which nevertheless conduce more securely and perfectly to eternal life. Because counsels are not necessary but free, their works are called works of supererogation (Werke der Ubergebuhr).
From these declarations are understood the qualities which belong to counsel, namely that it be: a. a free work not commanded; b. a better good; c. a work of supererogation.
1 St. Jerome, Adversus Jovinianum, l. 2. St. Thomas, I-II, q. 108, a. 4; II-II, q. 184, a. 3; q. 186, a. 7. Suarez, De religione, tract. 7, l. 1, c. 6-9. Bellarmine, De monachis, c. 7-13. Ballerini-Palmieri IV, n. 4-8. Gopfert, Moraltheologie, 6th ed. (Paderborn: Schoningh, 1908), I, n. 36-41. Simar, Lehrbuch der Moraltheologie, 3rd ed. (Freiburg: Herder, 1893), p. 45 ff. Schwane, De operibus supererogatoriis et consiliis evangelicis (Munster: Theissing, 1868). A. Weiss, Apologie des Christentums, 3rd ed. (Freiburg: Herder), vol. 5, p. 203 ff.
124. Their existence. 1. Although from most ancient times several erred against Catholic doctrine concerning counsels, nevertheless Protestants and Rationalists deny and attack the counsels themselves on principle.
The heretics of ancient times (Apostolics, Encratites, Manichaeans, Pelagians, Helvidius, Jovinian, Vigilantius, etc.) erred in that they said determinate supererogatory actions were commanded or prohibited. Thus some said poverty was commanded (on the contrary, national economists of our time altogether condemn poverty spontaneously chosen for the sake of God); others affirmed that the use of meat and wine was illicit. But they did not deny the existence itself of counsels. Protestants and Rationalists, however, attack the counsels themselves: the former indeed from the doctrine of the enslaved will and of good works as superfluous, the latter from the moral principle of Kantian philosophy, by force of which man must strive toward the highest moral perfection by all apt means.
- That besides precepts there are also counsels is gathered:
a. From the conversation of Christ with the young man asking about perfection: "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments ... If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me."1
By these words Christ the Lord superadds something to the precepts, whose observance is said to be necessary for salvation; something which is better and more perfect and not necessary, but to be chosen at will, and He commends it for obtaining greater happiness. Therefore He speaks of a counsel.
b. From St. Paul: "But concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord; but I give counsel, as having obtained mercy from the Lord, that I may be faithful ... Therefore he who joins his virgin in marriage does well; and he who does not join her does better."2
By these words the Apostle says that virginity is not commanded, and from divine inspiration he commends it not only as good, but as better than marriage. Therefore by these things he commends a counsel.
c. From the very nature of moral actions it is clear that there are very many good actions which are not commanded and at the same time are better than their opposites; but in species counsels can be referred to three heads:
a. To the motive from which precepts are observed: for that precepts be observed not from a motive of natural honesty, but from a supernatural motive, and especially from the motive of charity of God, pertains to counsels.
b. To abstinence from indifferent actions: for indifferent actions, especially those which are referred to delights, although under certain conditions they are not evil, nevertheless impede the tendency toward the ultimate end and bring it into danger; therefore to abstain from them, insofar as they are not necessary, is a matter of counsel.
c. To the exercise of virtues: for very many good actions and actions better than their opposites are either in no way commanded or at least not commanded at all times, as virginity, frequent reception of the sacraments, hearing Mass on weekdays, frequent prayer, etc.
1 Matt. 19:17 ff.
125. Evangelical counsels. Among counsels the evangelical counsels stand out, namely poverty, chastity, and obedience rendered to man, which are called evangelical because they are promulgated by Christ the Lord in the Gospel and by word and example are commended in a special way as means of Christian perfection, so that at the same time there is promulgated the counsel of instituting a peculiar state of life in which obligation to the observance of these counsels exists.
a. The individual counsels are contained in Sacred Scripture:
a. The counsel of poverty: "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor."1
b. The counsel of chastity: "Not all receive this word, but those to whom it has been given ... There are eunuchs who have castrated themselves for the kingdom of heaven. He who can receive it, let him receive it."2 By these words Christ the Lord signifies that virginity is a good more excellent than marriage, a good which He does not command, but commends to those who from the gift of grace can receive its worth.
c. The counsel of obedience: "If anyone wills to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me."3 By these words there is contained not only commanded abnegation, but also abnegation not commanded, and especially that which consists in voluntary obedience rendered to man, since in the full sense it is denial of self, namely of one's own intellect and one's own will.
b. The Old Testament already commended certain counsels: a. sacrifices freely offered; thus peace-offerings were not commanded, but were offered freely; b. vows, which are commended in the law, but are not prescribed.4 The chief of vows is the Nazirite vow, by which a man consecrated himself to God in a special way either for a time or forever.
1 Matt. 19:21.
3 Luke 9:23.
4 Deut. 23:21 ff.
126. Objections. 1. Heretics who attack counsels contend that all good actions which we can exercise are commanded. To demonstrate this they appeal to various testimonies of Sacred Scripture:
a. "Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect";1 by these words, they say, every perfection, even the most excellent, by which we can become like God, is commanded. But in truth, by these words not every perfection is commanded to us, but that which consists in the love of enemies (v. 44). By the exercise of this we will be like the heavenly Father, who makes His sun rise upon the good and the evil.
b. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God from thy whole heart ... and in thy whole mind";2 by these words, since perfect charity is commanded to us, whatever perfection we can attain is commanded to us. But in truth, by these words charity appreciatively perfect is commanded, which consists in this: that we avoid every sin, grave sin indeed under eternal punishment, but light sin under temporal punishment.
- Modern cultivators of political economy attack the evangelical counsels, especially poverty and virginity, as contrary to the common good of society. But in truth, their difficulty arises from this: that, not thinking rightly concerning social good, they falsely place it solely in an accumulation of riches and in a great number of men.
1 Matt. 5:48.
2 Matt. 22:37.